Abstract
The COVID-19 global pandemic is the most far-reaching crisis of the modern era and the cascading impacts on organizations is tantamount to a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment for decision-making by board directors and top management team (TMT) leaders. The pandemic provided an unprecedented opportunity to expand upon the disparate research associated with decision-making by board directors and TMT leaders during crises. This phenomenological study explored how the pandemic influenced decision-making distinctly from previous crisis events and how executive decisions on firm policies and strategies transpired throughout the crisis. A sample of 32 board directors and senior executives representing 130 diverse sector organizations illuminated their lived experiences in crisis decision-making. The results illustrate the often-dichotomous experiences of existential threats versus unprecedented growth across sectors. Based on analyses of semi-structured interview data and resulting themes describing the importance of collaboration, intelligence gathering, sufficient resources, adaptive capabilities, and the level of operational coupling, the Modeling Uncertainty-Sensemaking in Crisis (MUSIC) framework was created. The MUSIC framework illustrates the amplifying and attenuating factors that influence uncertainty and organizational capabilities in crisis decision-making. The results advance research on upper echelon and sensemaking theories by underscoring the importance of personal and professional networks as key contributors to the sensemaking process during crises as described by board directors and TMT leaders. Future research directions of the MUSIC framework include longitudinal research examining the crisis recovery outcomes of the sample firms. Future implementation of the MUSIC framework is described for widespread application in crisis management settings.
Library of Congress Subject Headings
Executives—Decision making; Crisis management; COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-2023—Management
Date of Award
2022
School Affiliation
Graziadio Business School
Department/Program
Business
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctorate
Faculty Advisor
Kevin Groves
Recommended Citation
Schaller, Kevin, "Board governance in crisis: director influence in executive crisis leadership" (2022). Theses and Dissertations. 1568.
https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd/1568